Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Do you have money in a Swiss account?

Wealth management giant UBS is facing a court hearing in Miami next week after refusing to disclose data on 52,000 Americans holders of secret Swiss bank accounts to U.S. tax authorities.

I wish this administration would be as tough on NK and Iran as they are on Swiss bankers.

I would be interested to know how much in taxes these people have avoided paying vs. how much the US government has and will spend on forcing this issue. We'll never know for certain but I suspect that the government is spending a lot more than they will recover.

Of course the issue is not whether this makes sense economically. The issue is that someone dared to defy the almighty federal government and must be put in their place. Sort of like arguing with a police officer - he can't let you challenge his authority and get away with it.

I have a sneaking admiration for people that can keep their money out of the hands of the government. Unfortunately, I'll never have enough to make it worth the effort.